AGRIVIAGRIVIAGRIVIAGRIVI
  • Products
    • AGRIVI 360
      • Farm Insights
      • Farm Enterprise
      • Farm Advisory
      • Agriculture Supply Chain
    • AGRIVI IoT
      • Fleet
      • Meteo
      • Soil
  • Industries
    • Farms
    • Enterprise Farms
    • Cooperatives
    • Food & Beverages
    • Banks
    • Input Manufacturers
    • Agronomic Advisory
  • Resources
    • ROI Calculator
    • Farm Digitalization Score
    • Blog
    • News
    • Case Studies
  • Partnership
    • Login to Partner Portal
    • Become a Partner
  • GET A DEMO
  • English
    • Hrvatski
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • Italiano
    • Polski
    • Română
    • Srpski
    • Español
Manage Cucumber Bitterness with Proper Farming Practices
    Home Blog Agronomy Manage Cucumber Bitterness with Proper Farming Practices

    Manage Cucumber Bitterness with Proper Farming Practices

    By Tanja Folnović | Agronomy, Blog Comments are Closed | 14 June, 2016 | 0
    Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) plant is the member of the gourd family Cucurbitaceae and has been cultivated since the 9th century. It originated in India and today is widely cultivated, with current largest cucumber producing countries such as China, Iran, Turkey, Russia and US. The total amount of cucumber production in the world is nearly 58 million tons of which 40 million tons is produced in China.Cucumber is a creeping vine that bears fruits rich in water (95% of fruit) and nutrients. The top phytonutrient are cucurbitacins, lignans and flavonoids, so cucumber fruit has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. Cucurbitacins are found in plants leaves, stems and roots. The wild cucumber was extremely bitter because cucurbitacins were defense system against herbivores due to its cytotoxic and poisonous properties. Cucurbitacins are defined by nine genes which are directly regulated by two master regulators, BI (bitter leaf) and Bt, located in leaves and fruits respectively.

    sl1

    Cucumber bitterness is caused by a group of highly oxygenated tetracyclic triterpenes, the cucurbitacins

    In commercial growing of cucumbers, accumulation of cucurbitacin in fruits can be induced by environmental stress during growth, such as an extended period of heat, extreme temperature fluctuations, drought and uneven watering. Stress causes translocation of nutrients from vegetative parts of the plant to the fruit thus making fruits become bitter.

    Fruit bitterness can be reduced by minimizing environmental stress during the growing season and by planting varieties that have very low levels of cucurbitacins. Here is the short guide which can help farmers to prevent cucumber bitterness:

    • Growing site – sunny and fertile field with well-drained soil is preferable. Cucumber grows best under conditions of high temperature, humidity, and light intensity and with an uninterrupted supply of water and nutrients. To provide those condition, an ideal solution is raised beds or mounds so the soil becomes warm early in the season and stays warm.
    • Planting and spacing – since cucumbers need plenty of space for growth, hills should be apart at least 90 cm, and 20 to 30 cm plant apart within a row. Best time to plant is when frost danger is passed and when the soil is warmed up to 16°C.
    • Trellising – cucumber vines can be trained on trellises to save space and improve yield and fruit quality. The high cost of trellising makes commercial production by this method uneconomical in most cases but greenhouse cucumbers must be trellised, because the long fruits bend if they rest on the ground. Besides that, trellising increase harvest efficiency, pest management efficiency and reduce fruit loss due to soil diseases.

    sl2

    Greenhouse cucumber farming

    • Continuous water supply – water stress is one of the main cause of fruit bitterness, so constant watering, especially during the early stages of growth is needed. Soil needs to be moist, but not wet. Also, using the mulch or plastic cover will prevent soil moisture evaporation and reduce weeds in the field.
    • Constant temperature – extreme temperature fluctuation and also a high temperature over an extended period of time can induce cucumber bitterness. Maximum fruit production is achieved with a night temperature of 19-20°C and a day temperature of 20-22°C.
    • Varieties – perhaps the most frustrating reason for cucumber bitterness is simple genetics; there is a recessive trait that can cause a plant to produce bitter fruit from the start.

    To achieve the best quality of fruits, AGRIVI farm management software gives farmers best practices for cucumber production with pests’ alarms. Complete cucumber farming with knowledge what to do during the season, farmers can find in the form of tasks. The system alerts farmers for possible pest attack based on weather conditions on fields and gives them the list of active substances for the treatment of these pests.

    Beside this, in AGRIVI system farmers can also track all field activities from tillage to harvest through seasons, map their fields, register farm inventory, machinery, people and all farm finances. Based on data of your crop production you enter into the system, it gives you a great overview of overall farm health through its powerful analytics.

    Avoid cucumber bitterness on time and achieve the best cucumber harvest ever with AGRIVI.

     

    Text source: World Knowing Harvest to Table Gardening Know How

    Image source: Caldicott’s Nursery Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

    No tags.
    Tanja Folnović

    More posts by Tanja Folnović
    Recent posts

    How AGRIVI Helps Farmers

    7 Key Benefits of Farm Management Software
    Read more

    Overcoming Weather Limitations with Greenhouse Farming
    Read more

    AGRIVI-Blog-Tracking-Costs-COVER

    Track Farm Costs: Scale Production and Reduce Expenses with Farm Management Software
    Read more

    INDUSTRIES

    • Farms
    • Enterprise Farms
    • Cooperatives
    • Food & Beverages
    • Banks
    • Input Manufacturers
    • Agronomic Advisory

    PRODUCTS

    • AGRIVI 360 Family
      • Farm Insights
      • Farm Enterprise
      • Farm Advisory
      • Agriculture Supply Chain
    • AGRIVI loT Family
      • Fleet
      • Meteo
      • Soil

    COMPANY

    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • Partner Program
      • Dealer Program
      • Solution Program

    RESOURCES

    • ROI Calculator
    • Farm Digitalization Score
    • Blog
    • News
    • Case Studies
    • Get a Demo
    • Log In

    GET A DEMO

    LOG IN

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    ©2023 AGRIVI. All Rights Reserved
    • Products
      • AGRIVI 360
        • Farm Insights
        • Farm Enterprise
        • Farm Advisory
        • Agriculture Supply Chain
      • AGRIVI IoT
        • Fleet
        • Meteo
        • Soil
    • Industries
      • Farms
      • Enterprise Farms
      • Cooperatives
      • Food & Beverages
      • Banks
      • Input Manufacturers
      • Agronomic Advisory
    • Resources
      • ROI Calculator
      • Farm Digitalization Score
      • Blog
      • News
      • Case Studies
    • Partnership
      • Login to Partner Portal
      • Become a Partner
    • GET A DEMO
    • English
      • Hrvatski
      • Français
      • Deutsch
      • Italiano
      • Polski
      • Română
      • Srpski
      • Español
    AGRIVI

    Get a Free Digital Agriculture Assessment for Your Farm in 6 easy steps
    TAKE THE QUIZ

    Calculate Your Return on Investment and Possible Savings with Our Free Tool
    GET STARTED

    Interested in buying Farm Management Software?

    Download your free guide.

    checked

    Thank you

    In a few minutes, please check your email inbox where we have sent you a copy of the ebook.

    *Please check your spam or promotions folder in case the email doesn’t arrive.

    checked

    Thank you

    In a few minutes, please check your email inbox where we have sent you a copy of the ebook.

    *Please check your spam or promotions folder in case the email doesn’t arrive.

    checked

    Thank you

    In a few minutes, please check your email inbox where we have sent you a copy of the report.

    *Please check your spam or promotions folder in case the email doesn’t arrive.

    checked

    Thank you

    In a few minutes, please check your email inbox where we have sent a link to the webinar.

    *Please check your spam or promotions folder in case the email doesn’t arrive.

    checked

    Thank you

    In a few minutes, please check your email inbox for further instructions.

    *Please check your spam or promotions folder in case the email doesn’t arrive.

    We will get back to you as soon as possible.